But what if your coach has only limited knowledge about that matter?
Or just knowledge about the technical and tactical sports?
Or what if your coach is not around?
What do you do in the off season, if you are on your own?
What do you do during your injury or recovery phase?

My experience in coaching both recreational and professional athletes has taught me that they have relatively little knowledge about injury prevention, working with heart rate monitors, flexibility training, 'functional strength training' and other important information to become a better athlete.
I asked myself the question why for example a top soccer player has so little knowledge about his own body?

'You just have to impose these guys what they should do, they need to execute what I impose them.' (Comment of a professional soccer trainer regarding the proposal to learn talented young soccer players more about these items, giving them homework, ...)

We obviously disagree with this statement and this has inspired us to further develop this concept, primarily within the soccer world, but obviously in other sports as well.

had the privelege to work with Willem. Unfortunately his personal business is growing so rapidly that there is no time left for our club. On very short term we could see that his lifestyle program, fysical training and personal approach were pionering but very efficient and adequate for the Youth Academy of YR KV Mechelen. Although Willem isn't with us anymore, his programm still being used by our technical staff. The DVD is a must for all people working with youngsters in sport.Rudy Geens, Responsible Youth Development (AVJO), YR KV Mechelen, First Division Belgium, soccer

'Transform yourself into an athlete' - Soccer

Professional soccer player: 'My coach tells me none of these things, he tells me only what I need to do, when I need to do and how to do it.'

The job of a football coach?

What can we expect from a soccer coach? That he teaches his players how to use heart rate monitors? How they can functional exercise in the fitness?
Of course not, these people want to focus on their sport and passion: soccer!
Who will then own this task? The physical trainer? The recovery coach? The physiotherapist? Are they sufficiently educated in these matters or do they only have knowledge about a part of it? And do they share their knowledge with their players? Or do they only tell their players what to do?
Obviously there will be many individual differences from club to club, from trainer to trainer.Soccer DVD: Injury prevention and strength training by mobility and flexibility

The educational level of a soccer coach?

To what extent is a soccer coach trained in the physical part? To what extent are they interested in this matter?
In case the soccer coach transmits this part to an assistant, how will he teach it to his players? And what with injuries? Will the recovery coach teach the players a few things?
Or not?

'Teaching a number of tools and insights to the soccer player? Why would you do that?'

'I understand why you want to bring this concept to young soccer players, but this will never work with professional soccer players who have their habits and are not interested in it.'
Professional soccer coach

We fully understand that retraining a complete team of 20-30 players in this matter is a utopia, but what if there are 8 players interested in the concept? Are you going to deny them the chance to learn more about 'functional strength training', flexibility, injury prevention, sports nutrition, ...?
We believe that you should give adult soccer players the chance to further develop and they should not be disadvantaged by their teammates who don't have interest or by coaches who generalize the disinterest. What if a non-skilled soccer player becomes a coach? What if a skilled soccer player becomes a coach? Which of the two will lift the level of athletic lilac in soccer?What can we learn from the Cybex test for (professional) soccer players? Or not learn?

Start through the youth ... or with the first team?

Young people are often more open to retraining and sometimes have no habits established, however, older players often have their way of training, nutrition, resting and often adapt more difficultly.
Is that so? Can we generalize? Is there a difference between team sports and individual athletes (eg cyclists)? My experience is in any case that an individual athlete leaves nothing to chance, always looking for better guidance/methods and not having any problem to adapt to better techniques.Functional stretching for youth soccer playersStability training for soccer players...a different point of view.

'Our players of the first team are used to work with power machinery and have no interest in functional training. How and why should they change their training methods?'
Professional soccer coach

I only got in contact with a more 'functional' way of training at the age of 33 however I had no problem with integrating these techniques and vision into my training because I knew the benefits and how I had to implement it.
Why wouldn't a professional soccer player of 28 years old be able to improve his training methods?
Fact is that the player should see the benefits for himself (which is always true and applicable for everyone) and that he learns how to implement it.
Could it be that clubs and coaches only impose things because they don't like to teach it to their players? Or that they lack the interest to teach it to their players? Or that they don't have the know how to teach others?

'Transform yourself into an athlete': advantages

What are the benefits for clubs, coaches and players to have more expertise in the areas of physical preparation, injury prevention, functional strength training, nutrition...
We will list some advantages when you bring more knowledge and skills into your club.

For clubs:
- Personality development of the players
- More responsibility to the players
- Less injuries
- Increased value of the players
- Know-how within the club which is not readily lost due during trainer swap
- ...

For trainers / technical staff:
- More time for the soccer trainer to engage with soccer itself
- More time and better organizational options for rehabilitation trainer / physical trainer
- Improved performance by learning the best methods
- Less injuries through improved knowledge and skills
- More knowledge for the trainer as he is involved in best practices and information
- ...

For the players / athletes:
- Increased knowledge and skills
- Train yourself better during season break, when having injuries, in your spare time...
- Fewer injuries and better performance
- Personal development, less dependent
- If you wish to become a trainer later, you have more knowledge and skills...
- ...

Why choosing for Act2Prevent (Dutch: Beweging in Praktijk)?
- We have the necessary expertise, educational material and development of the concept.
- We have a team of experts in different disciplines.
- We have the necessary experience in 'Applied Functional Science' resulting in guidance of an exceptional quality.
- Our intentions are in terms of health, 'performance' and education
- Our products are ideal for all levels and are easily adaptable depending on the opportunities and demand.

'Soccer -Pro - All in'
For clubs, coaches and players of professional level and who want to further professionalize / optimize: 'Soccer-Pro - All In'
- This 'all-in' formula is only suitable for professional clubs who wish a complete screening and optimization of their youth academy and first team.
- Professional day programs for trainers, medical staff and rehabilitation trainers depending on requirements: heart rate monitoring, periodization in practice, nutrition,...
- Day demo training sessions for all ages (starting from U15)
- Individual counseling sessions and guidance
- Teaching SMR (self myofascial release)
- Develop and / or optimize 'functional strength training'

Training with Nana Asare, professional soccer player, more info
The guidance / content is available on demand, includes maximum 3 months and is fulltime.
Only clubs who previously reviewed the DVD and conducted a 1-day training session at Act2Prevent before are qualified for the 'Soccer-Pro-All in' program. 'Soccer-Pro-All in' includes 300 hours.

'Transform yourself into an athlete' - Basketball: on requestQuotation, email your specific question, requirements and situation and we'll reply as soon as possible.

'Transform yourself into an athlete' - Volleyball: on requestQuotation, email your specific question, requirements and situation and we'll reply as soon as possible.

'Transform yourself into an athlete' - Your sport or discipline: on requestQuotation, email your specific question, requirements and situation and we'll reply as soon as possible.

The Applied Functional Science™ Symposium: The Whys, Hows, and Whats of Movement
This inaugural event is a 2-day seminar that features over 30 Presenters and Presentations by Fellows of Applied Functional Science™ from around the world. The common thread of Applied Functional Science™ ? the science of human movement ? will weave through all presentations and will empower the audience in the Principle-Strategy-Technique Process in order to better care for and serve all patients / clients in the areas of assessment, training and conditioning, rehabilitation, and injury prevention in the movement industry. WHAT SETS THIS APART FROM THE INDUSTRY IS THE FACT THAT THE ATTENDEES WILL SEE EVERY PRESENTATION AS EACH ONE IS DONE ON ONE PRIMARY STAGE.
The goal of the AFS Symposium is to further teach Applied Functional Science™ with the focus on application - on movements.For more information, including the topics and presenters.

We differentiate ourselves from the traditional individual soccer training because we are not only training him/her but also teach him/her how to train on his/her own on a physical level: functional flexibility for soccer, functional strength training for soccer, working with the heart-rate monitor and the targeted training zones, injury prevention in soccer,... (Concept :Transform yourself into an athlete). The advantage for the soccer player is that he/she is able to apply the learned principles at the soccer club or at the soccer training exercises when he/she trains autonomous.
We train as much as possible with the ball and soccer specific and leave room for the creativity of the soccer player. The soccer training contains functional core training, own bodyweight training and much more...3D dynamic stability training for soccer

For whom is our individual soccer training intended?

Soccer players of all levels who want to train extra and learn. We are aiming for players who want to boost their performance level after injury or soccer players who are temporarily without a club.

Soccer injuries: The numbers are enormous: soccer players who relapse from one into another injury, soccer players who do not know how to reach their former level again after injury, soccer players who has been advised to stop performing their passion, soccer players with physical problems (overuse injuries like Achilles tendonitis, knee, hip,...) for which nobody has a solution ...unless a surgery,...
Our studies in Applied Functional Science (AFS) taught us to look more causal (instead of symptomatic) at injuries and we use these insights into what we call 'functional injury prevention - training - rehabilitation'. This increases the chance to get a certain percentage of soccer players back to the original level without surgery or chronic pain/disorder/disfunction.What can we learn from the Cybex test for (professional) soccer players? Or not learn?

(Professional) soccer players without club: Most topclubs in professional soccer have too many soccer players, so there are a lot of talented soccer players who are temporarily without a club and have to maintain their physical condition on an individual basis. Our educational approach to these players turns a temporary disadvantage into an advantage in the long run, because we are going to train them using (and teaching them) the most up-to-date training methods. Our availability during the day and the opportunity to have multiple workouts a day keeps the professional player in the same training regime as at the professional soccer club and makes a later return easier.Contact us for more information.

Additional physical training for soccer: Experience shows that even professional players sometimes need additional training because they feel that they (group training at the club might compromise the efficiency) do not use their physical capabilities optimally ... or because their motivation and enthusiasm is so big that they want to get most out of their careers. Others find it important in the off season, the winter break or other breaks to maintain their shape using the guidance of a 'professional'. The educational part in our soccer coaching helps them not only in physical terms, but the knowledge and personal development that we have in mind, gives the soccer player a stable foundation for the rest of his/her soccer future.Stability training for soccer players...a different point of view.

Where do we have our individual soccer training sessions?

At our 'Personal Training Studio' in Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Mechelen, Belgium, however we are not limited to any location and can conduct our courses anywhere, depending on the demand and the intentions of the player.

For outdoor training, we prefer artificial grass because of the availability in all weather conditions and the perfect conditions for the physical stimuli, combined with the soccer skills.
Unfortunately, the availability of this artificial grass is rather limited at the moment.

When do the individual soccer training sessions take place?

Our availability may change from day to day, hence it might be important to book and schedule the soccer training sessions in time. Because of the occupation of the soccer fields, the possibilities are larger during the day compared to the evening, though that also depends on the ability and level) of the player.Contact us for more information.

Individual soccer training at your soccer club

Not every soccer club has an individual, rehab and conditioning coach for you, but may still want to cooperate to ensure that you, as player, have the best coaching. When the soccer club agrees to have you guided by an external conditioning coach, you can continue working in the familiar environment of your club and team players. This also provides the opportunity to work in small groups and share the costs. The advantage for the soccer clubs is that this type of training can be combined with a training-demo or educational training for other members (mainly soccer coaches, physiotherapists, medical staff, rehab trainers,...) of the soccer club.

Costs for individual soccer training

Depends on many factors such as the total time that the training session takes.
Let's say that a course at the Personal Training Studio in Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Mechelen, Belgium is less time consuming compared to a trip to London.
Working in larger groups is beneficial for the individual expenses.

Youth Soccer Coach Training Course: Juniors F

Why specific Juniors F, 5 - 8 year old soccer players?
From 2012 onwards, Willem Timmermans and Act2Prevent start organizing training courses for youth soccer coaches who wish to specialize in coaching the very youngest, i.e. Juniors F, this means the 5 to 8 year old soccer youth players. We are convinced that our youngest soccer players establish an important foundation at that age however; we notice in reality that, despite a large commitment of their coaches, there are only few coaches specialized in this age group.
In addition, most clubs position their soccer coaches starting from the oldest age groups and ultimately juniors F often get the least experienced coaches.
We also notice that there is sometimes little interest from the soccer coaches in coaching juniors F (possibly because establishing a foundation at that age requires a good strategy, structure and detail coaching) and that training courses for junior F coaches are not really part of the current portfolio. For that reason we want to meet the demand and from 2012 onwards we start organizing training courses for soccer coaches, specifically for those who want to get skilled and specialized in coaching the youngest in soccer.

Youth soccer coach /Juniors F expert Willem Timmermans?
Certainly within the soccer world it is risky to call yourself an expert since the opinions with respect to coaching players, the game itself and its results are very far apart. For that reason we add a question mark and we propose to judge yourself whether your participation in the soccer training course adds (added) value in specializing in junior F soccer. In any way we provide a number of facts that give you an idea what you can expect from the instructor Willem Timmermans, his vision and how he can help you, your youth soccer club and especially your players in the development towards a better education.

Who is giving the coaching classes?
Willem Timmermans

Owner of a UEFA B - license
Creator of the soccer DVD: 'Injury Prevention and Strength Training by Mobility and Flexibility'
20 years of experience as a youth soccer coach at all levels and ages, started at regional level, ended at national level (national U8 KV Mechelen, 1st division Belgium)
10 years of experience in coaching youth soccer ( 5-8 years old ), last years on highest level in Belgium
Head Long Term Physical Development KV Mechelen (2010)

Vision
There are many different visions concerning educating young soccer players and we could discuss for hours. Without judging about what is good or less good you may expect the following viewpoint in our junior F training courses for soccer coaches:

Willem Timmermans:Coaching U6-U8 is truly an art in itself. Very often we notice that our youngest soccer players are coached by the least experienced coaches, who start their mission with the necessary passion, however miss that important feeling with the specific requirements these players demand. In that sense we often notice that these children of 5 to 8 years old get 'adult' training sessions and soccer drills while their age and their soccer specific qualities require a totally different approach.
My experience in coaching soccer players of all levels has taught me that we can get so much more from our soccer drills if we respect a good structure and value the juniors F soccer well within the overall youth soccer development. As adults we often 'dream ' about perfect ball circulation and smooth combinations while these children have difficulties controlling the ball and are not able to pass an opponent smoothly and with a lot of creativity. Our great example is the late Wiel Coërver( Dutch soccer coach ) who has proven already long time ago that there are so many opportunities in junior soccer coaching of 5 years old players and older. Controlling the ball, fun and creativity are key at that age!
In the current curriculum for soccer coach is unfortunately (too) little time spent on 'establishing the foundation' and 'detail coaching' so that the most ambitious coaches prefer coaching older players compared to coaching a 5/6 -year-old who just made his/her first steps into soccer.
Because 'someone' has to work on the extremely important foundation we urgently need within our soccer coach curriculum a team of experts who can use their commitment and motivation with the much-needed vision. In that way we can guarantee every child gets the quality start it deserves in youth soccer!

It is our goal with our specific junior F coaching course to meet the needs from the soccer coach curriculum, the youth soccer clubs and the soccer coaches.

Willem

Contents of our Junior F soccer coach training course?
How do I start the soccer pre-season? How do I start the 1st Juniors F soccer training session? How do I include progression in the soccer training and how do I progress further on in the season?
What progression can I expect of a youth soccer player of that age?
How can I as a soccer coach add as much value as possible in the progression of the young soccer player?
Might a child learn more than I think or expect as a soccer coach?
What is a realistic soccer performance for a junior F on his/her age?
How to create as much ball touches as possible in every training session?
How do I use my time most efficiently and how do I avoid 'passive' moments?
Stop the ball or 'control' the ball?
Why basic techniques and passing/dribbling the opponent prevail on 'team play' at that age?
Which basic techniques are essential to ensure that every child has much FUN when playing soccer?
What is 'a dribbling minute' and what are the benefits? Are there also disadvantages?
Why is every warming up prior to the match a training session? How do I gain time?
What is detail coaching and how do I apply it in this age group ?
Which soccer terminology do I use in my coaching and why?
Why does every child need at least 1 own ball? Use of 'soccer pal', ... homework, ...

Advantage of our ' junior F soccer coach training courses for youth soccer clubs?
We already experienced that even for our 1st league clubs it is a difficult mission to find skilled youth soccer coaches who have interest and feeling with this age group. So we can imagine how hard it must be for lower division/smaller youth clubs to find excellent coaches for youth soccer players of that age.
Since the candidates for junior F youth soccer coaching are very limited and often the less experienced or even novice coaches apply, we want to help the youth soccer clubs in this way by educating their junior F coaches.
In our coaching classes we provide the junior F coach(es) the necessary skills and timeline in order to coach our youngest soccer players with the required know-how to make them TOP!
If you, as a youth soccer club, are already interested to refer your junior F coach(es) to our soccer coach training course, contact us or subscribe just below and we will inform you about our next training course.

Advantage for the junior F youth soccer coach?
Our coaching classes puts you in 'pole position' to become expert in this age group. We love to share our experience and expertise so that you can get more out of yourself and your young soccer players. Since the number of experts is limited, it is an ideal opportunity for you, as a motivated soccer coach, to differentiate you from others and to grow within your soccer club or the soccer world in general. We probably don't need to convince you that the main advantage is the progression of your young soccer players, who are representing your excellent junior F coaching and guidance.

For whom?
Youth soccer clubs who want their junior F youth soccer coaches to enjoy a specific course for their age group.
Soccer coaches who wish to become experts in junior F soccer coaching, having the very best youth soccer drills.
Youth Development Directors who wish to bring structure in the soccer coaching starting with the youngest age groups.
The novice junior F soccer coach who wants to get more insight in the age-specific and unique soccer-path of a 5-8 year old soccer player.
The more experienced soccer coach who wishes to improve his/her skills with the specifics of junior F coaching and is interested in improving detail coaching.
...

More information about our youth soccer coach coursesLocation: to be definedDate: There is no new date for the time being, however feel free to contact us. When you are interested, we inform you personally. Subscribe below

Hours: 9 AM - 5 PMParticipation fee: 65 euro
Are you still a high school student or are you joining with multiple youth coaches from the same soccer club, don't hesitate to request our special conditions.